Faux Authenticity

Van Cleef & Arpels’ ad on the back cover of the February 2012 issue of Art News is the latest in a sad legacy of the haute couture jewelry design world. The ad displays an exquisitely crafted platinum and bejeweled “zipper” necklace. It’s an impressive piece of work, advertised to coincide with the publication’s theme of “Where Fashion Meets Art”.

Where fashion meets art these days seems to result in a lot of stolen concepts. We have noticed a growing trend in couture jewelry over the last several years to co-op designs and concepts developed in the art jewelry and DIY arena. This is driven by luxury goods manufacturers’ need to be seen as fashion forward. But we have also noticed a strong trend of alternative materials, pioneered by art jewelry designers, being adopted by fashion jewelry houses as a way to appear cutting edge and keep their profit margins.

If this trend were confined to the use of a material it would be fair game, but frequently it extends to the designs as well.

The Van Cleef & Arpels Zip necklace is squarely taken from a design concept that was created in the art jewelry world several years ago and demonstrates just how creatively bankrupt this venerable old firm is. The necklace is a dazzling piece of craftsmanship, no doubt. And yes, Van Cleef & Arpels, anything a DIY crafter can do, you can do better – except create an original idea in the first place.

The Zip necklace from Van Cleef & Arpels is a gaudy example of yet another couture trend. Namely, taking street fashion, tarting it up with precious metals and gems, and presenting it with the delusion that it has any authenticity whatsoever. In this particular instance the original concept is rooted in repurposing a common object with no intrinsic value as ornament. The concept’s authenticity is its creator’s vision to see beyond the utilitarian function of a common zipper and reframe it’s context. Van Cleef & Arpels is clearly attempting to hitch a ride on that authenticity, but by copying the original idea in precious materials they show just how tone-deaf and out of touch with the concept they really are.

We are reminded of a fashion trend popular during the French Revolution and the Reign of Terror. Women of the time would tie a red cotton cord around their necks to symbolize their solidarity with the revolution. The red cord was a symbol and reminder for all who saw it that the guillotine awaited all who opposed the revolution – mainly the aristocracy.

In a panic and desperate to show that they were “with the people”, many upper class women began wearing a red cord too. But befitting their station, many of them bejeweled their red cords, in effect accentuating the class separation and economic disparity that sparked the revolution in the first place. In the end this turned out to be the biggest fashion faux pas of all time.

Van Cleef & Arpels can clearly bring prodigious craftsmanship to the table. Matching that with authentic design creativity would go a long way towards re-establishing the house as a place where “fashion meets art”.

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Tom, I agree that in the workshop and commercial publishing environment one would be hard pressed to sell an article or workshop with design as the topic. My reference to business being an anathema is in the college arena. There the focus is all design and art with little or no real world survival skills being taught. But I agree that it is easy to get into the us vs them mindset.

Since it appears Harriete has removed her comment (or at least I can no longer see it) I don't see how I can comment on it at this point other than to say that I responded to it in that fashion because of how it came across to me.

The only other thing I will say is I have had and continue to have a great deal of respect for Harriete both for her art work and her work on the Professional Development seminars.

Jim, I didn't get that from what Harriete was saying, and in fact, I think this is one of the persistent mythologies that we would all like to see evaporate into the mist. The original premise of this discussion was that many of us don't put much effort into marketing our work and create opportunities for others to cash in on the designs we as individual designers create. You are not in this category. We look to you as a leader by virtue of how you run your studio. You have found a niche, you market your products, and you work in a collaborative studio environment to achieve your goals. And you've been doing it that way for quite a while, so we get the distinct impression its workin' ok.

We're all grappling with how to make a living doing what we love. Frankly if the customer wants art we'll sell them art, if they want craft we'll sell them craft, and if all they want is a bracelet, well, we have several to choose from right here.

Is this where we jump off into the ART vs craft war Harriete ? Are the only people who count the ones who would rather starve than stoop to selling something other than ART to those truly enlightened souls that buy for museums or those few hundred collectors that shop at the possibly half dozen or less galleries that truly deserve that name in the US? Because you have been rather dismissive of a large number of people with a true love for jewelry / metal arts.

Harriete, we're probably not as far apart in our thinking on museums and galleries as you might believe. We are not advocating that anyone turn their backs on galleries and museums. We are merely suggesting that we consider expanding the means that we use to market our products.

People often take a discussion to polarizing ends - its one way or the other. This is not the case here. We can, and should sell our work through whatever channel is appropriate. You offer your work in high end galleries, on Etsy and in museums. So do we, and we will continue to do so. They have been good sales venues for us.. But that by no means is the end of it. We continue to seek out any and all opportunities to sell our work and get it in front of potential buyers. Sometimes those opportunities are conventional, like a store or show. Sometimes they are highly unconventional like a non-art event. The point is - we'll try it, we're open to it. When we say "get out of the galleries and museums", we're saying that they are not the ONLY place you can sell your work. On that we clearly agree.

We also agree with Tom on the Joanna Gollberg's recent article in Ornament. It was refreshingly direct and devoid of any artifice or pretensions to "art". Sometimes a bracelet is just a bracelet and that is all someone wants to buy. Are we any less noble for our ability to make a well crafted beautiful bracelet?

Brigitte, That is more along the lines of what I think is needed. A few classes in the curriculum devoted to business and entrepreneurship. An MBA is a marvelous education and for some may be the way to go but I don't see it as being needed by the vast majority of artists. But being made aware of how one goes about making a living as a studio craft artist and being taught the basics of business over the course of two to three classes would be a tremendous help.

Entrepreneurship for Creatives

Alison Branagan MA AIBC FRSA

Alongside talent, artists, designers, and creative professionals have prospered through a variety of means. Many skills need to be enhanced or acquired to acquire success as a practitioner or build a business within the creative industries. This course aims to assist in developing a range of inter-personal and practical enterprise and entrepreneurship skills to help you profit from opportunity. Through a series of workshops, you will learn how to focus, negotiate, construct networks, create a vision, work with others, understand key legal aspects and business strategy. Learning about these topics will assist in pursuing an entrepreneurial outlook. The course includes sessions on idea generation and creating an inspired sales pitch.

Jim, we have talked to far too many people in this and other creative disciplines who have attempted to make a living via gallery sales and the exhibition circuit. You have better odds of becoming an NBA basketball star. Tom, the message here is precisely that we should reach out, band together and learn from each other be it fashion, glass, wood, marketing, whatever works. Clearly, everybody is working hard. Not everybody is working smart. We have advocated that makers get their work out of the museums and galleries and take it to the customers for years. We don't have anything against museums and galleries, its simply that any good fisherman knows you go fishing where the fish are.

"If we don’t pay attention to the fashion world and what our audience will be wearing our work on or with, our work will be worn. But only to Gallery openings."

Bravo Tom, way too much emphasis is put on making work for "galleries" in the training of the ART jeweler. That is such a narrow and from my observation shrinking market that I don't see how anyone can make a living trying to serve it.

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